The Next Xbox Live Dashboard Just Opened Its Beta

Want to see what the future of Xbox Live looks like? Thanks to Major Nelson, you'll have a crack at the beta and get to weigh in on what it should be.

Details about what the beta will actually entail are a bit sparse. The blog post announcing the beta only mentions that "select" dashboard features will be available. Sorry, no SmartGlass just yet.

Two out of the three are less than exciting: "Personalized dashboard recommendations" and an improved search function are trumpeted. Although we do welcome any sort of improvement to search we can't say the idea of our Xbox trying to push more stuff on us is an exciting new feature.

The big addition seems to be Internet Explorer for Xbox. As mentioned at E3, this version of Microsoft's web browser is fully Kinect enabled. Microsoft's goal with it is to make web-surfing on your couch a smooth, seamless experience not unlike watching TV. The main question is of course whether beta users will immediately start trying to download another browser out of sheer habit.

If you'd like to try out the future of navigating around your console, you can sign up for the beta with your Microsoft Connect account. You'll be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement to participate.